


Choice

by Inell



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: First War with Voldemort OR Second War with Voldemort, Order of the Phoenix - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2006-12-03
Updated: 2006-12-03
Packaged: 2018-10-26 06:05:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 660
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10781106
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Inell/pseuds/Inell
Summary: Caradoc knows that there’s only one choice.





	Choice

**Author's Note:**

> Note from Annie, the archivist: this story was originally archived at [The Quidditch Pitch](http://fanlore.org/wiki/The_Quidditch_Pitch), which went offline in 2015 when the hosting expired, at a time I was not able to renew it. I contacted Open Doors, hoping to preserve the archive using an old backup, and began importing these works as an Open Doors-approved project in April 2017. Open Doors e-mailed all authors about the move and posted announcements, but may not have reached everyone. If you are (or know) this creator, please contact us using the e-mail address on [The Quidditch Pitch collection profile](http://archiveofourown.org/collections/thequidditchpitch/profile).

  
Author's notes: I just had to write this because the idea kept nagging at me. Hope someone enjoys it! Events take place after [Artist](http://inell.livejournal.com/573630.html), though it can stand alone.  


* * *

There isn’t much time. Benjy was found last night, well, pieces of him were found, which means Avery got to him. Caradoc doubts that Benjy would have given them any information, but torture can break even the most loyal man. Regardless, he doesn’t have any desire to stay to find out.

In the months since Benjy arrived at his flat with something he nicked from Caedmon bloody Avery, Caradoc’s known things weren’t going to end well. Avery is rumored to be one of Voldemort’s oldest and most faithful Death Eaters, as well as one of his most sadistic. He’d warned Benjy to be careful and stop taking such huge changes, but his advice was ignored and now there are only pieces left of his friend.

Typical Gryffindors, though, to believe they can cheat death and always succeed. Caradoc is a Ravenclaw for a reason, and knows how dangerous things are becoming in England. The Order is holding its own, barely, but for how long? He has to believe they’ll win because the alternative is too horrible to consider yet he foresees even more death before the end. He planned to be there fighting alongside them the entire time, regardless of outcome, but things have changed. Now that Benjy is gone, he knows what he has to do, even if it goes against his principles.

It won’t be long before Avery manages to connect them and come after him. Benjy didn’t have many friends and it isn’t a secret that Caradoc was one of the few. It’s a tough choice, really, to leave and not help finish this war, but he still has to research the music box and try to find out what secrets it holds.

He now knows it must be more important than he and Benjy suspected, and feels guilty for not focusing on it during the last few months. If he’d not thought that Benjy was just exaggerating to make himself into some sort of hero, he might have found out answers and saved his friend. Instead, he’s hurriedly packing just enough things that no one will be able to notice and preparing to leave London.

No one can know he’s run because it’s too dangerous. They might start looking for him and, through them, Avery might find him. There’s not enough time to make it look like he’s been killed without a doubt, a thought that makes him feel even more guilty when he thinks of the Order members and how he’s deceiving them. He doesn’t have much of a choice, though, so he‘ll do what it takes to get away and save himself.

A mysterious disappearance is equivalent to being murdered these days, so it won’t be long before they notice he’s gone and declare him dead. Avery will stop looking for him and, hopefully, not survive the war to keep looking for this damn music box. He wishes Benjy had never found the cursed thing because it’s nothing but trouble.

He resists the urge to send an owl to Fabian because he doesn’t want to involve him in this. His old friend will forgive him, he knows, but he still feels guilty for not letting him know he’s really alive. Hopefully, the war will end soon, Avery will no longer be a threat, and he can return to his life.

With that hope in mind, Caradoc wraps up the music box tightly and puts it in his bag along with a few books that should be helpful. He pulls his cloak around him and runs through a mental list of things he should be sure to take when he’s not sure how long he’ll be gone. After determining that he’s not forgotten anything, he leaves his flat and quietly closes the door behind him.

End


End file.
